Buttercup - Rich

Whispering Pines Buttercup (s23372, 4/06) remains one of my favorites. She was our first spotted lamb and she has really developed nicely. She has such straight legs and the roundest rump we have (mine excluded). She really has an outstanding conformation and striking markings! She’s definitely a smirslet, but almost a yuglet. She also has a very dense fleece. I don’t think her fleece is the softest in the barn, but I could see her lambs having something special if bred to the right ram! In this case, the right ram was Windswept White Pine (S24374), our Yuglet HST katmoget. I’m looking for a spotted kat out of this breeding, and since both parents have very few flaws, I could see keeping this lamb (or hopefully lambs). Buttercup is a good example of a ewe that benefited from the extra year of growth. Don’t get the impression that I don’t breed lamb ewes. In fact, this year we bred eight of them, but they were all at least 50 pounds. I do so cautiously, however, using the look and weight of the ewe to make the final decision. I try to resist the temptation to breed ewes that aren’t ready, just because I’m excited about the possibilities. I was tempted to breed Tink this year, and Buttercup last year, but I didn’t think it felt right.